Does giving a child a sip change his or her long-term drinking habits? Photo: Tang Ming Tung/Getty Images It's a strong causal claim: Giving kids sips of beer turns them into teenage drunks. Did the journalist get it right? Here are some quotes from the story, posted in the food website Munchies: Those innocent …
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One of the studies randomly assigned White college freshmen to have a White or a Black roommate, and measured the students' bias long term. Credit: ©Syracuse Newspapers / N. Lisi / The Image Works The year 2016 provided multiple references to implicit and explicit racial biases, especially in politics. So you might be wondering, What does …
Evidence shows that visual attention to road hazards can be trained. Photo credit: Shutterstock Here's a package of correlational and experimental research that illustrates the importance of spotting hazards while driving. This summary, from the Association for Psychological Science website, introduces the issue like this: [H]azard perception...involves visually scanning the road ahead for clues that …
The researchers asked students if this element probably linked to real news or fake news.What's the clue that tells you this story is probably not "real news"? Fake news is in the (real) news lately. Whether you're looking at Facebook, Buzzfeed, or your online newspaper, companies may try to clickbait you into reading a story that's …
Why might girls show a stronger relationship between compulsive texting and bad grades? Photo: Getty Images How many minutes per day do you spend texting your friends? Do you think that your time spent texting might interrupt your daily activities, such as studying? This very short summary in Scientific American Mind captures several quick results, and …
The wealthier people were, the more likely they were to spend time alone. Photo: Shutterstock In some earlier entries on this blog, I've posted stories about how money is related to (or can even change) people's social behavior, such as here and here. This week, the Washington Post ran a story about the association between money and socialization patterns. Let'sl= …
Your judgment of this person's cheating behavior may be influenced by what flavor you just tasted. Photo: Constantine Pankin/Shutterstock Do sweet flavors put us in a happier mood? Do bitter flavors go with being judgmental? A Washington Post journalist pulled together several studies of human taste and human judgment. Together, they provide excellent practice for discriminating between …
Parents reported giving children ipads frequently when the children are upset. Does the study match the headline provided by the journalist? Photo: Nadezhda1906/Shutterstock The headline for a story on Tech Times reads, "Parents of 'difficult children' likely to use ipads to pacify kids." The story is about a survey reported in the medical journal JAMA …
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Can the study support the advice to "put kids to bed early?" Photo credit: FamVeld/Shutterstock Here's a story with a straightforward message: "Happier families put kids to bed early." The journalist's story begins with this introduction: Studies are proving that getting kids to bed early isn’t just good for the kids – it’s good for their …
This respondent said that watching cat videos causes her mood to improve. What do you think? Photo: Rasulovs/Thinkstock. Here's a provocative headline from Medical News Today: Viewing cat videos boosts energy and positive emotions. That sounds like exciting news to me: The causal claim implies that we should watch some of those cute kitty videos …
Continue reading Meow! “Viewing cat videos boosts energy and mood” Really?